Great Britain

Set B6 - Wild Flowers Series 2
- card information

17. Grass Of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris L.)

This flower is very localised in its distribution and requires bogs and swampy ground for a habitat. Where conditions are suitable it often flowers in profusion, but it cannot be considered common. The blooms appear in August and are of an exquisite wax-like quality which contrast strongly with their sometimes forbidding surroundings. It has a peculiar arrangement of stamens which ensures cross pollination between flowers. The only British species, its nearest relatives being the Saxifrages.